Year Five The Perfect Goodbye Plan novel Chapter 288

Silvia barely reacted, her expression calm as she met his gaze. For a fleeting second, she caught the concern flickering in his eyes.

She pressed her lips together, then let out a dry, almost amused laugh. “I get it. You’ve found out what’s happened to her in Sylvaris, haven’t you?”

“Yeah.” Kent nodded, watching her closely. He hesitated for a moment, then reached into his bag and pulled out a stack of photos, setting them gently in Silvia’s hand.

“Take a look. These are the latest.”

Silvia took the photos, flipping through them. Kent’s investigator had taken them from different angles compared to Johnny’s previous shots, revealing even starker glimpses of Jewel’s decline. In these images, Jewel looked far more lost and broken than before.

Silvia couldn’t help but curl her lip into a mocking smile. “They took my family’s money and ran off, thinking they’d live it up. Maybe they partied a little too hard, and now look at them.”

Kent pursed his lips, then asked quietly, “What are you thinking?”

He honestly didn’t care much about Jewel; all he wanted to know was what Silvia felt.

“Me?” Silvia lifted her eyes to Kent, shaking her head. There was a trace of confusion in her gaze. “I don’t know.”

She was supposed to hate Jewel. But seeing her now—defeated, sprawled in the dirt—Silvia couldn’t help but feel a strange, uncomfortable ache somewhere inside.

“It’s all right.” Kent drew her gently into his arms, brushing a soft kiss across her forehead. He whispered, “No matter what happens to them, you’re all that matters to me. And to be blunt, Silvia, Jewel brought this on herself.”

“I know.” Silvia nodded, pushing the matter aside for now.

“You didn’t need to bring me anything, Vianne,” Lola said, her voice polite but distant.

Vianne’s smile only widened as she fixed her gaze on Lola. “Come on, Mom, I’m your daughter. Of course I’d bring you a gift.”

“Mom?” Finn’s voice cut in suddenly as he stepped through the front door. He shot Vianne a look of thinly veiled sarcasm. “Funny, I thought Silvia made it clear before she left. With my mother, shouldn’t you be using a different title?”

Vianne froze, meeting Finn’s eyes for a long, tense moment before her gaze dropped, her expression turning plaintive. “Aunt Lola, now that I’m back with the Ashfords, I just want to make a good impression—so you’ll accept me.”

She pressed the gift—a delicate bracelet—into Lola’s hand, her eyes earnest and pleading.

But Lola felt nothing. No affection, no warmth. Only a chill as she looked back at Vianne. “Is that all you want, coming back here?”